


Restraint

by lunarorbits



Category: Persona 5, Persona Series
Genre: Angst, Friendship, Gay thoughts can't catch Ryuji he runs too fast, Hugging, M/M, Mentioned Kamoshida, Rated T for language, Ryuji is soft leave him alone please, Support
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-06
Updated: 2017-04-06
Packaged: 2018-10-15 19:46:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10556690
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lunarorbits/pseuds/lunarorbits
Summary: Two are stronger than one.





	

**Author's Note:**

> There's like nothing written for this ship which is sad because I love it, I love them. Occurs after the second bonding scenario with Ryuji.

A common misconception: Ryuji is _not_ an angry person. Ryuji _gets_ angry, like any other goddamned human being, and he has every reason to. Especially when his old track mates spit venom in his face knowing damn well what reaction he’ll have.

That afternoon burns hot in his chest, makes his throat close up and his legs weak from more than just the running. It could have been worse. He could be walking home alone, beaten and bruised by a fight he would have started. Ryuji _knows_ how much worse it could have been, if _he_ hadn’t been there.

A chill climbs up his spine, sensitive to the eyes behind thin-framed glasses. Ryuji turns his gaze from the ground to the soft grey that appraises him.

“Still thinking about it?”

Sometimes, Akira is unfairly perceptive. Ryuji forces a smile, curling in on himself slightly more than usual. “Yea,” he tells Akira openly, hoping that admitting it might somehow make the train of thought stop. He hates how weak he is, when it comes to his dad. People act like they know shit, know _him_ , but they don’t. He just wanted a normal school life so he could forget about home, just for a while, but Kamoshida, _fucking_ Kamoshida had to mess that up. Ryuji wishes he could shut off his brain; he can feel things getting more knotted, cluttered, messy. A quick look at Akira, however, quiets his thoughts. Just a bit.

“Thanks for helping me earlier,” Ryuji says, “but it’s over, ain’t it? Let’s talk about something else.” He waves dismissively.

Akira, apparently, doesn’t miss that fact that his hand is shaking. He stops, and Ryuji does too, a few steps ahead. He turns around to see Akira looking at him pensively from beneath his dark head of hair, still damp from the locker room showers.

“You’re strong, Ryuji.”

The words settle in him slowly, like sediment in water. He huffs out a short laugh. “Uh, why do you say that? Sure, I can run a bit faster than you but—”

“No, I mean that you’ve been through a lot. And if someone said that to me,” he takes a step closer, “I would be mad too.”

Ryuji had hoped that _wasn’t_ what he meant. “I don’t want to be mad at them, Akira. They don’t deserve it. Not like Kamoshida does.” Ryuji sighs, pretending not to notice or care that Akira takes another step towards him. “But when someone mentions my home life I just…” He shrugs in frustration, at a loss for words as he stuffs his hands in his cramped pant pockets, where Akira can’t see.

“You stopped yourself today, didn’t you?”

He wasn’t expecting something so _stupid_ to come from Akira, one of the smartest people he knows. He laughs again, high and clipped. “You mean that _you_ stopped me.”

“It was a suggestion.” Akira replies calmly, and Ryuji shakes his head. The place where Akira had clasped a hand around his wrist, already drawn back to throw the first punch, still feels hot. Some suggestion that was. At the time, Ryuji could practically _feel_ his tension melt away, like Akira was absorbing all his malice through the contact of skin on skin. Warmth on warmth. It was as surprising as it was relieving. Now, Akira smiles like he knows something Ryuji doesn’t, like he sees something Ryuji can’t. “In the end, it was your decision. But I’ll always be here to back you up, if you want me to.”

The hot flush that creeps up Ryuji’s neck and onto his cheeks is unexpected and _definitely_ unwanted, but not unpleasant. It doesn’t make sense why that promise— if it is a promise— puts Ryuji at ease.

“I, uh—” he starts, scuffing his shoes against concrete as Akira waits, ever patient and mature. There's a beat of comfortable silence and alleyway sounds while Ryuji works at holding his head high enough to meet the other’s gaze. “Akira, you might just be the weirdest guy I’ve ever met.”

Akira crinkles his nose, and Ryuji catches himself before he can even _think_ that it’s cute. “Why?” A simple and blunt response, as usual.

“I dunno. Because you make me feel like I belong somewhere.”

And now, even Ryuji’s _ears_ are being swallowed by red heat. There isn’t an inch of his skin that doesn’t burn as Akira stares, eyes wide and lips parted in a dumbfounded state. The pink tint on his pale skin makes Ryuji feel menially better about his own situation.

Now it’s his turn to wait, though he’s much less graceful at it than Akira. He blinks, taps his foot, thumbs at the edges of his pockets. And god help him if his eyes accidentally linger on Akira for more than a split second.

“So…” Akira begins slowly, carefully, like he’s approaching an animal poised to run, “where is 'somewhere?'”

Ryuji’s mind just kind of… blanks. He doesn’t know. It’s just a feeling of belonging, maybe not so much _where_ , but more _to_ or _with_. But he can’t tell Akira that— not that he’d have the words to say it, if he wanted to. Which he doesn’t. The other is still looking at him expectantly, like he honestly wants to know, and Ryuji realizes he has to do _something_ because this time, the waiting isn’t easy for Akira either.

He knows he can’t say anything, and he knows he can’t do nothing. The skin of his wrist tingles.

For once Ryuji doesn’t think, and pulls Akira into a hug. He can take that answer however he pleases.

The security of a shoulder under his chin is something Ryuji hasn’t felt in a long time. Soft, damp hair cools his cheek, and Ryuji closes his eyes, trying not to think about how it’s _Akira’s_ hair and how it smells woodsy and clean. It takes a second, but when Akira finally rests his head on his shoulder in return, the comforting weight makes Ryuji smile.

He hopes the other doesn’t notice the full-body shiver that courses through him when Akira whispers past his ear— a simple and accepting “okay,”— and wraps his arms around Ryuji’s waist.

Ryuji is draped over Akira’s shoulders; he feels like he’s leaning on him more than he should. But whatever. Despite what he says, Ryuji knows Akira is the stronger of the two of them.

He’s the first to break, pulling away from Akira with a sharp inhale, and is all too aware that the hands stay on his waist a fraction longer than they have to. Ryuji doesn’t mind.

“'Okay' yourself,” he says with a laugh much gentler than the others. For some reason, the idea of parting now feels wrong. Ryuji clears his throat with an unsure smile. “So, you hungry? Dinner?”

It’s a casual, friendly invitation, he tells himself. Just he and Akira, hanging out as best friends do. But when Akira quickly nods his head yes, without an ounce of hesitation, Ryuji lights up more than usual, and doesn’t think twice about Akira grabbing his wrist to lead him towards the station.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading guys I'm only like 9 hours into the game so I'll probably be here a while lol. If you have any prompt requests/ideas hmu on twitter @lunarorbitz  
> Update: I'm now like 40 hours into the game and losing my effin mind over it. I posted the start of another fic, sunday kind of love, so check it out if you're ready for more Ryuji/Akira!


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